A family of nine watched in disbelief as their two-acre garden got eaten away by a raging run off in one rainy season leaving the subsistence dependent farming household grappling for farm land for over five years. This family along with others, begun to grow food on rented and unproductive land for survival.  They were unable to secure or buy new land of their own.

Poor land management practices such as reckless cutting down of trees, overgrazing and cultivation on steep slopes and marginal plots led to widespread gully formation in Balaka District.

The people of Chitalo Village, Traditional Authority Amidu suffered severe effects of gully erosion creating land degradation and disruption of transport systems. Further, there had been an acute shortage of suitable farm land.

 “The gullies shook the very core of our livelihoods. We observed helplessly when the gullies transformed our once productive farming land into ravines,” says Anita Mendulo, a resident in Chitalo village. She adds that the gullies cut off some roads effectively throwing spanners into the transport system.

The Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) IV under its sub project, ‘Land Resources Conservation’, worked with the community in Chitalo Village to reclaim the gullies. The project focused on contributing to food security through the restoration of soil fertility for cost effective farming.

In a series of step by step activities, the project began by sensitizing the beneficiaries on the process of gully reclamation to cultivate cooperation and foster ownership of the project among community members.

The project focused on reclamation, planting vertiver grass in the gullies and constructing check dams. These interventions were designed to control runoff and facilitate refilling of the gullies.

The success of the project also relied on partnerships with other stakeholders in Balaka. Director of Planning and Development for Balaka District, Obed Mwalughali says “extension staff guided and provided expertise to community members in planting vertiver and construction of check dams.”

Balaka has in aggregate reclaimed 67 gullies in 4 years. Land Resources Conservation officer for Balaka James Kadaya says his office worked hand in hand with the district Forestry Office to reclaim the gullies.

“We focused on constructing check-dams and the Forestry Department did their part in the regeneration of the forests. These combined efforts have paid off,” says Kadaya

The wetlands have re-emerged where there were only gullies now reclaimed and the land earmarked for irrigation projects.

The project was also a form of cash transfer to the benefiting community. Workers in reclaiming the gullies were drawn from the community each paid K900 per day.

The success of the gully reclamation project is worth replicating.